The Reasonableness of Christianity was published by John Locke in 1695, but it was published anonymously. The content of the treatise was such that Locke expected to stir controversy, and he certainly was not disappointed. Nuovo's book is a compilation of contemporary background literature and responses to Locke's work, varying from Anglican Calvinism through Socinianism (Unitarianism) to outspoken deism. Locke definitely had a strong leaning toward a rationalistic Christianity that was heavily influenced by the Socinians and deists. Whether he was personally a Socinian or deist may be doubtful, but surely his work tries to establish that Christianity supported beliefs and morality similar to those of the rationalists. Thus, Locke argues that reason supports a morality that the Christian religion reveals. It might be fair to state that Locke believed that Christian revelation was necessary for the common people, but the intellectual elite might discover the same truths through reason alone. At any rate, Locke himself saw no conflict between reason and the Christian revelation, and that is his primary theme in his treatise.

Nuovo's edited work contains a brief introduction to The Reasonableness of Christianity and to the related controversy. …

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